Manchester, March 7 Arsenal and Manchester United are all set to clash for the third time this season, with the Gunners having won the first league match and the Red Devils prevailing in the FA Cup on penalty shootouts. The two historic rivals are all set to take stage at Old Trafford on Sunday but Ruben Amorim believes he saw signs of fatigue in the 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad and given Arsenal’s ruthless 7-1 victory over PSV in the UEFA Champions League, Manchester United ‘will need to survive’ in the game.
"We need to survive Sunday [against Arsenal]; the team was so tired in the last 20 minutes [against Real Sociedad]. Everybody can start if they’re training [today]," said Amorim in a press conference.
With the Manchester United head coach under heavy pressure to turn things around at the club, Amorim hailed Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta for his ‘inspirational’ job at Arsenal but doubts he has the same amount of time that the Spaniard was given when he joined Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta joined Arsenal in December of 2019 and besides an FA Cup title victory in the 2019-20 season, the Gunners boss was given a long rope after consecutive eighth-place finishes in the league which saw him implement his process at the club and transformed the side to back-to-back second-place finishes.
"I will not have the time that [Mikel] Arteta had. I feel that it is a different club in that aspect. The way Arteta dealt with that [dealing with issues within the club] is an inspiration for everybody,’ Amorim added.
United currently occupy the 14th spot in the league, whereas the Gunners’ hopes of winning their first league title continue to diminish with Liverpool extending their lead to 13 points.
On Thursday, Real Sociedad and Manchester United drew the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie 1-1 at the Basque side's Reale Arena.
United went in without Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu for Sunday's FA Cup fifth-round tie against Fulham at Old Trafford. The wing-back, who signed from Lecce earlier this month, is serving the first of a three-match suspension after being sent off for serious foul play during Wednesday's home win over Ipswich Town. His ban applies to all domestic competitions, meaning he will sit out of this fixture and the Premier League meetings with Arsenal and Leicester City, too.
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